High school football roundup: Montour tops New Castle in opening round

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, November 3, 2017 | 11:12 PM

Kavon Morman hit Brando Lipford with a 56-yard touchdown pass with less than 2 minutes remaining to give No. 4 Montour a 35-31 victory over No. 5 New Castle in the WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinals Friday night.

Morman threw for 199 yards and two touchdowns for the Spartans (8-2), who will play No. 1 South Fayette in the semifinals next Friday.

Marcus Hooker ran for 248 yards and three touchdowns for New Castle (7-4), which led by 21 points late in the third quarter.

Class 6A

Central Catholic 27, Peters Township 20 — No. 2 Central Catholic (9-2) defeated No. 7 Peters Township (7-4) to advance to the WPIAL Class 6A semifinals. The Vikings will face Penn Hills, who they defeated 21-0 to close out the regular season.

North Allegheny 38, Mt. Lebanon 14 — Turner White ran for two touchdowns, and Nikko Rankin returned an interception 26 yards for a score as No. 5 North Allegheny (8-3) defeated No. 4 Mt. Lebanon (6-5) in a WPIAL Class 6A first-round game. Seth Morgan threw for 229 yards and four interceptions for the Blue Devils.

Penn Hills 30, Bethel Park 28 — Hollis Mathis threw for 229 yards and three scores as No. 6 Penn Hills (8-3) won a WPIAL Class 6A opening-round game. Tanner Volpatti ran for 102 yards for No. 3 Bethel Park (8-2). Penn Hills will play No. 2 Central Catholic in the semifinals.

Class 5A

Gateway 40, Woodland Hills 28 — In the WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinals, Brady Walker threw for 394 yards and a touchdown and ran for a TD as No. 2 Gateway (10-1) beat No. 7 Woodland Hills (6-5). Derrick Davis ran for 111 yards and three touchdowns, and teammate Courtney Jackson caught seven passes for 125 yards and a touchdown. Woodland Hills returned two kickoffs for touchdowns. Gateway will play McKeesport in next week's semifinals.

McKeesport 22, West Allegheny 21 — For the second year in a row, a two-point conversion shaped McKeesport's postseason fate. Layton Jordan's 9-yard touchdown run and two-point conversion gave McKeesport a seven-point, third-quarter lead that proved invaluable when West A scored in the fourth and missed the extra point kick.

A year ago, McKeesport watched West Allegheny celebrate a semifinal win after a two-point run in overtime.

The No. 6 seed Tigers (7-3) face conference rival Gateway next week in the Class 5A semifinals. McKeesport's Johnny Harper rushed for a team-high 117 yards and a touchdown. Will Weber led No. 3 West Allegheny with 177 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

Class 4A

South Fayette 35, West Mifflin 0 — Drew Saxton threw for 259 yards and three touchdowns as top-seeded South Fayette (11-0) shut out West Mifflin (5-5) in the WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinals. Noah Black caught five passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns while Drew Franklin ran for two TDs. South Fayette will play Montour in the semifinals.

Thomas Jefferson 42, Trinity 0 — Justin Vigna ran for 134 yards and a touchdown to lead No. 3 Thomas Jefferson (9-1) to the WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinal shutout against No. 6 Trinity (6-4). Shane Stump completed four passes — three for touchdowns — for 113 yards. Thomas Jefferson, which scored 28 points in the second quarter, will face Belle Vernon in next Friday's semifinals.

Class 3A

Aliquippa 48, South Park 12 — Avante McKenzie rushed for 244 yards and five touchdowns as No. 1 Aliquippa (11-0) scored 26 points in the third quarter to defeat No. 8 South Park (6-4) in the WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinals at Ambridge. M.J. Devonshire scored on a 72-yard interception return for Aliquippa, which will play Beaver in next week's semifinals.

Beaver 40, Elizabeth Forward 20 — Brodie List threw for 225 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 70 yards and two scores as No. 5 Beaver (9-2) downed No. 4 Elizabeth Forward (7-3) in the WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinals. Beaver outgained Elizabeth Forward, 408 yards to 133. The Bobcats will face Aliquippa in next week's semifinals.

Seton LaSalle 35, Freeport 18 — Lionel Deanes rushed for 282 yards and five touchdowns as No. 3 Seton LaSalle (9-1) eased to a Class 3A first-round victory at Dormont Memorial Stadium. The Rebels forced five Freeport turnovers in the victory. Jake Sarver passed for 167 yards and two touchdowns to Luke Kennedy for No. 6 Freeport (7-3).

Class 2A

Avonworth 21, Charleroi 12 — Derek Johncour threw for 192 yards and two touchdowns as No. 12 Avonworth (4-5) upset No. 5 Charleroi (9-2) in the first round of the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs. Turner Grau caught eight passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns in the win. Geno Pellegrini threw for 223 yards and a touchdown for Charleroi. Avonworth, whose defense forced six Charleroi turnovers, advances to play Riverside.

Burgettstown 31, Neshannock 28 — Seth Phillis kicked a 37-yard field goal as time expired to give No. 9 Burgettstown (7-3) the WPIAL Class 2A first-round win at No. 8 Neshannock (6-5). It was Burgettstown's first playoff win since 1977.

Ryan Lounder threw for 130 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 157 yards and a TD to pace Burgettstown. Seth Fehrs tossed for 118 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 152 yards and a TD for Neshannock. The Blue Devils advance to play Steel Valley next Friday.

Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic 35, Brentwood 7 — Joe Meinert ran 24 times for 215 yards and two touchdowns to lead No. 3 Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic (9-2) to the WPIAL Class 2A first-round win against No. 14 Brentwood (5-5) at Mars. Zack Rocco also scored twice for the Trojans, who will face Serra Catholic/Beth-Center next Friday.

East Allegheny 28, Mohawk 14 — No. 7 East Allegheny (7-3) doubled-up No. 10 Mohawk (5-4) in the first round of the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs. The Wildcats will play Washington in next week's quarterfinals.

Riverside 34, Frazier 0 — In the first round of the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs, LeMarcus Cleckley rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns as No. 4 Riverside (8-2) blanked No. 13 Frazier (3-8). Austin Dambach caught three passes for 76 yards and a touchdown and intercepted a pass. Riverside will play Avonworth in next Friday's quarterfinals.

Serra Catholic 27, Beth-Center 20 — Evan Honick, who completed his last nine passes of the game, hit JaQuae Jackson with a 30-yard scoring pass in the fourth quarter to give No. 6 Serra Catholic (7-4) the WPIAL Class 2A first-round win against No. 11 Beth-Center (7-4). Honick completed 15 of 22 passes for 228 yards and four touchdowns while Jackson caught six passes for 118 yards and two TDs. Bailey Lincoski tossed for 109 yards and a touchdown for Beth-Center.

Steel Valley 42, Laurel 13 — Ronell Lawrence threw for 153 yards and two touchdowns Class 2A No. 1 Steel Valley (9-0) defeated No. 16 Laurel (3-8) in first-round playoff action. Kameron Williams rushed for 114 yards and two touchdowns while Trevon Adams caught three passes for 110 yards and a TD. Steel Valley faces Burgettstown in next week's quarterfinals.

Washington 42, Freedom 9 — In the first round of the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs, Nick Welsh ran for 156 yards and two touchdowns to lead No. 2 Washington (10-0) to victory over No. 15 Freedom (5-6). Dan Walker added touchdowns on a 35-yard punt return and an 18-yard pass from Zack Swartz. The Little Prexies advance to face East Allegheny in the next round.

Class A

California 51, Bishop Canevin 7 — In the WPIAL Class A first round, Jelani Stafford ran for three touchdowns and Colin Phillips threw for one TD and ran for two more as top-seeded California (11-0) downed No. 16 Bishop Canevin (3-7). California, which led 38-0 at halftime, will face Union in the next round.

Carmichaels 28, Western Beaver 8 — Nicholas Mundell ran for touchdowns of 61 and 56 yards as No. 7 Carmichaels (8-2) beat No. 10 Western Beaver (6-5) in a WPIAL Class A first-round playoff matchup. Nathan Lavery and Charles Lowry also rushed for touchdowns for Carmichaels, which faces Clairton in next week's quarterfinal play.

Clairton 41, Summit Academy 18 — No. 2 Clairton (8-2) advances to the WPIAL Class A quarterfinals to face Carmichaels after beating No. 15 Summit Academy (4-6) in first-round play.

OLSH 52, Springdale 26 — The No. 5 Chargers (8-3) won their first playoff game in school history behind 271 passing yards and five touchdowns from Tyler Bradley. Josh Harmon had 100 yards rushing for No. 12 Springdale (5-6). OLSH will play the winner of Saturday's game between Imani Christian and Sto-Rox.

Rochester 39, West Greene 14 — Caleb Collins scored three times as No. 6 Rochester (8-2) defeated No. 11 West Greene (7-4) in the first round of the WPIAL Class A playoffs. Rochester will play Jeannette in next Friday's quarterfinals.

Union 30, Fort Cherry 21 — Tre Charles scored on a 30-yard pass from Evan Pinkerton and on a 16-yard run to lead No. 9 Union (8-3) over No. 8 Fort Cherry (7-3) in the first round of the WPIAL Class A playoffs. Ryhan Culberson ran for one touchdown and returned two fumbles for scores to account for Fort Cherry's points.